


Everything Will Be Ok

by Lilluv



Category: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
Genre: Coming Out, F/M, Gay Male Character, One Shot, One-Sided Attraction, Pining
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-01
Updated: 2020-07-01
Packaged: 2021-03-05 01:01:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,808
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25015876
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lilluv/pseuds/Lilluv
Summary: Will was struggling with a really big secret that he didn't know how to tell his best friends. And he was worried it would split the group apart. All over one little crush.
Relationships: Eleven | Jane Hopper/Mike Wheeler, Will Byers & Mike Wheeler
Comments: 8
Kudos: 23





	Everything Will Be Ok

Will grew up in a world where everyone pretty much had their lives laid out for them. Most people in his world ended up with lives that looked a lot like their parents. Nice houses, cushy jobs, or deadbeats with small, shitty houses. There wasn't much in between. Will knew his mom always wanted better for him and Johnathan than she ever had. She wanted them to be the ones with the nice houses, cushy jobs, wives, and kids that loved them. But Will never saw that for himself. Yeah, he always longed for something better, but most of the time he just didn't know what.

But, for most of his childhood, he ignored that feeling. He played D&D with his friends, he rode bikes, went to school, and did typical kid things. He loved his life and didn't want anything to change. But when he got sucked into the Upside Down... his whole life changed.

He was only there for a week. Most of the time, he has a hard time remembering what even happened to him. All he knew that he had a new respect for life and his friends and family. For everything he could have lost.

He spent all his free time with his friends after that. Especially Mike. The party didn't hang out separately all that much, but, Will did find himself going over to Mike's when the others weren't there. They had more sleepovers than the rest of them and generally just hung out more. And Will loved every second of it.

When the Mind Flayer flayed him, he lost himself. He doesn't remember much from that week, either. It's all pretty much a blur from that day on the field to the day El closed the gate.

After that, El and Mike were together all the time. Holding hands... kissing...the two of them were never apart. Will didn't like it. He wasn't sure why. He didn't have a problem with Lucas and Max or Jonathan and Nancy, and he saw them together more than Mike and El. he could just never figure out why he hated it so much. He just couldn't put a word to that feeling that he got in his chest every time he saw them together.

Slowly, though, he noticed that it was a different feeling sometimes. When Mike and El were together, he felt a tightness in his chest and wanted to clench his fists. But when Mike was alone, he felt his heart pound and his palms get sweaty. And that had been happening around Mike for as long as he Will could remember, but he wasn't sure why the feeling was different when El was there. He liked El. They were friends. He just didn't like seeing her with him.

The first time he finally understood the feeling was the day at the movie theatre at Starcourt when they saw Day of the Dead. That first day he felt that chill in the back of his neck from the Mind Flayer. When Mike leaned over and asked him if he was ok... all Will wanted to do at that moment was grab Mikes face and kiss him. But he didn't.

He tried to talk himself out of his newfound crush. He knew that it wasn't ok. Boys didn't date other boys. Kiss other boys. And, even if they did, Mike was with El.

He pushed his crush deep down inside. Or, at least he tried to. He hated that he had to deal with this at all. Why couldn't he just have a crush on some cute girl from school like the rest of his friends? Why did it have to be Mike? Mike, who was totally out of reach. Mike, who was his best friend. Mike, who he couldn't live without. Mike, who was a _boy._

Will tried his best not to think about it. He really did. But it was hard. One of the worst days was the day it was raining and all he wanted to do was play D&D with Mike and Lucas. He set up this whole campaign that he was really excited about, but Mike and Lucas really could care less. All he wanted was for to be a day where they were just kids who played D&D, not teenagers who talked about girls and relationships. He just couldn't stand it.

Finally, when Mike and Lucas had fried his last nerve that day, he stormed off. All they wanted to do was call Max and El and wallow in their self-pity, but Will just needed to go home. When Mike chased after him and asked him to stay, he would be lying if he said that there wasn't a flutter in his chest. But he just couldn't deal with it anymore. So he freaked out on Mike. And after Mike said, "It's not my fault you don't like girls," Will just couldn't handle it anymore. So he left. In the pouring rain. And never looked back.

* * *

After that, Will didn't really have any time to process his feelings, since they were all so busy fighting the Mind Flayer and the Russians and closing the gate again. But, finally, once it was all over, he took some time to figure things out. He spent a lot of time alone in his room for the week after the Fourth of July. He spent almost the entire week away from his friends, especially Mike. He loved Mike. Hell, he was _in love_ with Mike, but he just needed some time to be alone with his feelings. And now that El and Mike were back together, he just couldn't stand to be around the two of them.

And it didn't help that El was living with them now. Will really liked El. He did. And he felt really bad about her dad dying. He also liked having a friend around. A sister maybe? He didn't know. But every time he looked at her, he thought of Mike. Mike and his stupid, beautiful face. Mike and his annoying charm.

So Will stayed in his room. Alone.

After a few days like that, Mike came over to check on him.

"Will," His mom called down the hall, "Mike's here to see you."

Will groaned as he peeled himself out of his bed and got up, throwing his door open and heading for the living room. When he got there, Mike was standing in the middle of the room, looking down at the floor, holding his hands behind his back.

"Hey," Will said as he walked into the room.

"Hey," Mike replied. Will's mom left and walked towards the kitchen.

They stood in awkward silence for a moment.

"So... what are you doing here?" Will asked, breaking the ice.

"I just wanted to see how you are," Mike said, taking a few steps forward. "We haven't seen you at all since the Fourth of July. We miss you and were all worried about you."

"Yeah, well you shouldn't be," Will grumbled.

"What?" Mike asked, making that face he makes every time he's confused.

"You shouldn't worry about me," Will said, louder this time. "I'm totally fine."

"Of course we're going to worry about you, Will," Mike said, closing almost all the space between them, leaving only about a foot. It made Will's heart pound. "It's not like you to stay away for this long." Mike put his hand on Will's shoulder, and Will was sure Mike would be able to hear his heart pumping out of his chest.

"Mike, I..." Will said, having a hard time forming words. "I've been keeping a big secret from you. And it's not that I don't want to tell you, because I do. I just don't want things to change."

"I promise they won't," Mike said, pulling Will into a hug. Will started to cry in the larger boy's arms.

Will pulled away after a few seconds, or it could have been hours, he wasn't sure, and took a deep breath, wiping the tears off of his face.

"Mike," Will took a deep breath, trying to phrase this exactly right. "I'm gay. I like boys the way I'm supposed to like girls. And, I think on some level I've known for a while, but I only just admitted it to myself recently, and I've had a hard time coming to terms with it."

"That's the big secret?" Mike asked, not even missing a beat. "Oh, Will, you know I don't care about that. None of us do. We just want you to be happy."

Will smiled a little bit and considered not telling Mike the other half of his secret. But he knew he had to. He knew that if he didn't do it now, he never would.

"That's not all," Will whispered.

"Ok?" Mike said, prompting him.

"I... I..." Will was struggling, but the nothing-but-supportive smile on Mike's face helped him get it out. He looked down at the ground. "I'm in love with you." He whispered.

"Will, you know I'm not-" Mike started.

"Yeah, I know that," Will confirmed, cutting him off, looking up again. "I know that it could never happen. I know that. I know it's something I'm just going to have to get over. But it's going to take some time."

"Ok," Mike said, seeming slightly distant.

"I don't want things to change, Mike," Will promised. "I want to hang out with the Party and go to the arcade and play D&D and see movies and all that stuff. I don't want to change the group with this. I just want everything to stay the same. Because I would break if I didn't have my best friends by my side."

With that, Mike smiled again and pulled Will into another hug. Will tried to ignore the whole 'Mike is touching me' thing and tried to focus more on that he told his best friend, and that he's ok. That he's not going to lose his friends. That everything will be ok. It seemed like that's been his mantra lately.

"Hey," Mike said, pulling away, "We were all gonna go to the arcade. Teach El a few video games, lift her and Max's spirits after, well, you know... Hop and Billy. Wanna come?"

Will smiled the widest he had in a very long time. "Sure, let's go."

Will called across the house to let his mom know where he was going and ran outside to bike over to the arcade with Mike. On the way there, he felt an overwhelming sense of familiarity and calm wash over him, and he smiled. He knew everything was going to be ok, and that everything would soon go back to normal. Well, at least as normal as things can get in Hawkins, Indiana.

**Author's Note:**

> Is anyone else really hoping that Will gets a coming out storyline in season 4, or is it just me? Anyway, comments and kudos are always appreciated!  
> Kisses!  
> Lilluv


End file.
